MWIA - Update No. 73 March 2018 - MEDICAL WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION - The Medical Women's International Association
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MEDICAL WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
MWIA
Update
No. 73 March 2018
E-mail: secretariat@mwia.net Website: http://www.mwia.net
Twitter @MedWIA
MWIA Secretariat
7555 Morley Drive
Burnaby, B.C., V5E 3Y2, CANADA
Phone +1 604 522-1960
1
CONTENTS
I MWIA
page
1. President’s Message 3
2. Requests from the Secretary-General 5
3. 2013-2016 MWIA Executive 6
4. Message from the President-elect 7
5. Message from the Treasurer 8
6. CSW 62 8
7. News from the Regions 11
8. Report from MWIA representatives to the UN 18
9. Report from MWIA’s Representative to WHO 19
10. Report from European Women’s Lobby 19
11. CIOMS 20
12. yMWIA 20
13. Calendar of Forthcoming Events 21
14. Names in the News 23
15. Obituaries 24
16. Publications 24
II ORGANIZATIONS
1. World Health Organization (WHO) 25
2. United Nations 25
3. CoNGO 25
4. US Pharmacopeia 26
5. Menstrual Hygiene 26
6. Vaginal self swabs 26
7. #MeToo to #TimesUp 26
III ANNOUNCEMENTS 26
MEDICAL WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
THEME OF THE 2016-2019 TRIENNIUM
“MEDICAL WOMEN: AMBASSADORS OF CHANGE”
MEDICAL WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
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1. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Professor Dr. Dr. Bettina Pfleiderer, Germany
I just returned to my home town Münster in Germany at the 27th of March after being in the US
since the 10th of March attending two events on behalf of MWIA.
First, I participated at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York
which was held from March 12-23. The theme of this year’s CSW was “Challenges and
opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.”
About 10,000 delegates were attending this year’s CSW.
MWIA Vice president Cissy Yu and I went to the consultation day one day prior to the
beginning of the CSW. One of the highlights was a moderated conversation between Mrs.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive director to UN women and HE Ambassador Geraldine
Byrne Nason from Ireland, who is the bureau chair of the CSW. It is the first time the chair is a
woman! Both speakers pointed out that it is important to have a holistic approach- that means to
integrate the different tracks into one: e.g. without education and clean water, health of people
cannot be improved. A passionate plea for action was made and that we need to talk more about
what we are doing and to highlight the message we care about! We need to create more spaces
for women to be heard, since in many issues we move too slowly and the impact is still too
limited.
Issues are e.g. are related to infrastructure, social policies, sexual and reproductive health, access
and ownership of land and access to health networks.
A major focus of this year’s CSW was on violence against women and girls. It was in particular
stressed that it is of importance to obtain data and to perform research, since we can only prevent
what we understand! Also without data a crime cannot be proven or perpetrators cannot bring to
justice. Research can be used for policy papers and for prevention measures. Data must be used
by governments to formulate policies, this is often not done. However, it was clearly stated that
research on violence is under-financed and this must be changed in order to make sustainable
progress on violence.
MWIA had a parallel at the 62nd CSW entitled “Women Doctors Achieving Gender Equality in
the Rural Setting.” This was a
well-received event with
inspiring presentations! The
room was packed. The photo
shows some of the speakers of
the event. A big “thank you” to
our MWIA UN representatives
Satty Gill Keswani and
Padmini Murthy for putting
this exciting program together.
MWIA highly appreciates the
important work they are doing
at the UN on behalf of MWIA.
Thank you as well to our wonderful speakers who made this event a huge success!
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There were poster presentations and talks by 20 Australian Medical Students and Young Doctors
during the UN CSW. It is wonderful to see the passion and dedication of the Australian Medical
students to women’s health globally. An award for outstanding support of the Australian Medical
Students was presented to MWIA president Bettina Pfleiderer, MWIA President-elect Clarissa
Fabre, UN Rep. Satty Gill Keswani, MWIA Secretary General Shelley Ross and MWIA VP
North America//MWIA UN Rep. Padmini Murthy. The awards were given to them by the
Australian Medical Students and Colleagues during the UN CSW. It was a great honor.
Congratulations!!!
Last but not least, MWIA would like to thank the Rickards Family and the Australian Federation
of Medical Women and the Sydney School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia –
in particular Prof. Dr. Gabriella Casper- to provide a portable ultrasound unit for the Connaught
Hospital in Sierra Leone. This was presented to delegates from Sierra Leone during the CSW at
an MWIA networking lunch. The unit will have great use as they have over 5,200 babies
delivered a year. Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world: Maternal
mortality rate: 1,360 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 estimated).
Since I was already in the US, I had the opportunity to attend
the MWIA regional meeting North America/national annual
meeting of the American Medical Women´s Association
(AMWA) in Philadelphia from the 22-25th of March. It was a
brilliant meeting, very well organized and I met many
wonderful colleagues. Congratulations to AMWA!
I participated at a fireside chat: Women’s Leadership in
Healthcare as
panelist together with Joyann Kroser (Clinical
professor of Medicine, Drexel University College of
Medicine) and the co-moderators Eliza Chin
(Executive Director, AMWA) and Beverly Johnson
(President, Federation of Medical Women of
Canada).
Photo: from left: Beverly Johnson, Bettina
Pfleiderer, Joyann Kroser, Eliza Chin.
MWIA secretary General Shelley Ross, MWIA President-elect Clarissa Fabre, MWIA VP North
America Padmini Murthy, Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) President Joyce
Barber and MWAN President-elect Minnie Oseji were also in attendance at the MWIA regional
meeting North America. The picture was taken at the Gala dinner.
The MWIA centennial congress website is open now. Please consider submitting an abstract
for a presentation or a poster. The deadline for abstract submission is September 1, 2018.
Website: https://amwa-doc.org/mwia100
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I am looking forward to meeting you all in New York at the centennial meeting (25-28th of July
2019).
Finally, MWIA has a new Facebook page since December 2017. Please follow us to receive
the most actual updates on women´s health, MWIA news and info about the upcoming congress.
https://www.facebook.com/mwia.network
2. REQUESTS FROM THE SECRETARY- GENERAL
Dr. Shelley Ross, Canada
It is with deep sadness that I begin my remarks by informing the membership that my predecessor
as Secretary General of MWIA, Dr. Waltraud Diekhaus, passed away on February 4th in
Dortmund. Waltraud was a great advocate for women in medicine, a well-loved Secretary General
and a long time friend to me and many others. She fought her ovarian cancer with dignity and
strength and when no further treatment was possible, she passed away peacefully at her home
surrounded by her loving family. Our deepest condolences were extended to her family.
Many of the executive have recently returned from the United States where we attended the
Commission on the Status of Women followed by the North American Regional Meeting of
MWIA. Both events were well attended and well received.
The website (www.amwa-doc.org/mwia100/) is open for MWIA’s exciting Centennial Congress
being held at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott in New York City July 25-28, 2018. The room rate is
better than what you often can find in New York, so please take advantage of the convenience of
staying in the same hotel where the congress will take place.
The MWIA website now has a heading on the home page for activities associated with the
Centennial Congress. Please be reminded about the Centennial scarf competition and the fabric
collage project, both of which are explained on the website. www.mwia.net
The First Special Update for the Centennial Congress went out to all national associations and
individual members in January. This contains the papers for nominations and for submitting
resolutions. Nominations must be into the Secretariat by May 1st, 2018, and resolutions by January
1st, 2019. If you did not receive the First Special Update, please contact the Secretariat at
secretariat@mwia.net.
There are two remaining regional meetings planned for 2018. The Southern European Regional
Meeting will be held in Palermo, Italy, in April and the Central Asian Regional Meeting in Bangkok,
Thailand, in September. Please check the calendar of events later in the Update for details.
For those of you unable to attend the Southern European Regional meeting in Italy, MWIA is
partnering with Active Communications International (ACI) on their Second Women’s Health
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Conference to be held in Denver, Colorado, April 25-26, 2018. They have offered MWIA members
a 15% discount on the registration fee. Please see details in the calendar of events.
MWIA has an extensive workplan with WHO. Please let the secretariat know if you are working
with migrant women, particularly those who were health care workers in their home land, as there is
an interest in how they access health care. WHO has recently released a document on the topic
publication ‘Women on the Move: Migration, care work and health’ http://www.who.int/gender-
equity-rights/knowledge/women-on-the-move/en/.
The World Health Assembly will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 21-25, 2018.
Please let the Secretariat know if you wish to be registered to attend (secretariat@mwia.net).
Under the Canada section of news from the regions, please take a look at the invitation from Dr.
Vivien Brown of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada to join with Canada in spreading its
very successful HPV Prevention Week. The materials are available for your use.
Hot off the press is the development of MWIA’s facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/mwia.network
and facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwia.network
To keep abreast of news, please visit the MWIA website at http://mwia.net/news/
As a reminder to National Coordinators, it is anticipated that you will circulate this newsletter to
your membership. In addition, if you have not accessed the secure site for NCs please let the
Secretariat know. The Updated MWIA Flyer is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese to
National Coordinator’s on the NC secure site at www.mwia.net.
Contact information for MWIA:
Website is www.mwia.net
Email is secretariat@mwia.net
Phone is 1-604-522-1960
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mwia.network
Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwia.network
3. 2016-2019 EXECUTIVE with email addresses:
President Prof Bettina Pfleiderer, Germany president@mwia.net
Past President Prof Kyung Ah Park, Korea past_president@mwia.net
President Elect Dr. Clarissa Fabre, UK president_elect@mwia.net
Secretary-General Dr. Shelley Ross, Canada secretariat@mwia.net
Treasurer Dr. Gail Beck, Canada treasurer@mwia.net
VP Northern Europe Dr. Tuula Saarela, Finland VP_northerneurope@mwia.net
VP Central Europe Prof Khatuna Kaladze, Georgia VP_centraleurope@mwia.net
VP Southern Europe Dr. Antonella Vezzani, Italy VP_southerneurope@mwia.net
VP North America Dr. Padmini Murthy, USA VP_northamerica@mwia.net
VP Latin America Dr. Maite Sevillano, Brazil VP_latinamerica@mwia.net
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VP Near East/Africa Dr. Mabel Aboah, Ghana VP_africa@mwia.net
VP Central Asia Dr. Piyanetr Sukhu, Thailand VP_centralasia@mwia.net
VP Western Pacific Dr. Cissy Yu, Hong Kong VP_westernpacific@mwia.net
The Medical Women’s
International Association Executive 2016-2019
Front row left to right Kyung Ah Park, Clarissa Fabre, Bettina Pfleiderer, Shelley Ross
Back row left to right: Piyanetr Sikhu, Mabel Aboah, Padmini Murthy, Maite Sevillano, Cissy
Yu, Khatuna Kaladze, Tuula Saarela, Antonella Vezzani (absent: Gail Beck)
4. Message from the President-elect
Dr. Clarissa Fabre, UK
On International Women’s Day in early March I attended my first WOW festival (‘Women of
the World’) on the Southbank in London. The festival started 8 years ago and has spread to many
centres across the world, ranging from the small town of Katharine in Australia’s Northern
Territory, to the largest in Karachi, Pakistan. Highlights for me included a session on women in
conflict situations who very bravely ‘refuse to be silent’ and speak out about their experiences at
great danger to themselves; two victims of child sexual abuse and rape who led a discussion on
stories of survival and recovery; a live podcast on ‘The Dead Bedroom’ where a lot of issues
around modern sexual relationships were discussed; Ruby Wax talking about her new book on
‘How to be Human: the Manual; Carrie Gracie from the BBC discussing the gender pay gap. I
would definitely recommend that you try to attend a WOW festival near you next International
Women’s day.
I was delighted to attend CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) at the UN in New York
this year. The MWIA parallel event was a big success, as was the Medical Women of Nigeria
(MWAN) side event. Professor Gaye Caspar organised an MWIA lunch, where her 20 Australian
medical students and residents presented their posters to all the attendees. It is a great inspiration
to have these young people attend CSW, and it is wonderful that Gaye gives them this
opportunity to see the UN and its workings at first hand.
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By very good fortune, the joint AMWA/ North American Regional MWIA meeting took place
almost immediately after CSW, in Philadelphia. I was honoured to attend. It was an inspiring
meeting, beautifully organised by the AMWA Board including our own Dr Eliza Lo Chin. A
great emphasis was placed on leadership, sponsorship and mentoring, which was very valuable
for the many students and residents who attended. Mentoring is very actively encouraged in the
US. What shocked me greatly was the high level of stress and burnout among students and
residents in the US (around 50%, with a high incidence of suicide). This confirmed what had
been suggested by our MWIA membership survey last year. I learned a lot about how to use
social media, about the HPV vaccination for boys as well as girls for the prevention of cervical
and oropharyngeal cancer, the ‘Imposter Syndrome’, and unconscious and implicit bias.
Altogether, a wonderful experience.
Our MWIA membership survey also suggested that what members found most valuable about
MWIA was the networking experiences it offered. I loved meeting so many of you in the last 2
weeks, and I look forward to meeting so many more of you in the future.
5. Message from the Treasurer
Dr. Gail Beck, Canada
Supporting Gender Equity Worldwide
Each year, MWIA supports the Secretary-General’s attendance at the United Nation’s
Commission on the Status of Women. The President also is supported to attend once during her
term. However, each year, a small group of members always attends completely at their own
expense to represent MWIA. The group changes each year, but there is always a good
representation.
Medical Women’s International Association does owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Padmini Murthy
and Dr. Satty Gill Keswani who have served as our representatives to the United Nations for
many years, completely supporting themselves for the most part.
I have attended the meetings four times, including this past year, and have written about the
experience in my blog. When you have a moment, I invite you to read about my experience.
https://drgailbeck.com/2013/03/10/women-doctors-at-the-united-nations-commission-on-the-
status-of-women/
https://drgailbeck.com/2014/03/19/reflection-on-the-commission-on-the-status-of-women-
csw58/
https://drgailbeck.com/2015/03/15/united-nations-commission-on-the-status-of-women-session-
59/
https://drgailbeck.com/2018/03/12/new-york-state-of-mind/
6. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 62)
CSW 62 took place at the United Nations in New York from March 12-23, which a NGO
Consultation Day taking place on March 11th.
The priority theme was Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the
empowerment of rural women and girls; with the review theme being Participation in and access
of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on
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and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women (agreed conclusions of
the forty-seventh session).
A great deal of discussion occurs before the member states come to the agreed conclusions that
can be found at:
http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/62/outcome/csw62-
agreed-conclusions-advanced-unedited-version-en.pdf?la=en&vs=3837
Each year the NGO CSW runs a parallel event for the NGOs. Thank you to MWIA’s Dr. Padmini
Murthy who sits on the NGO CSW executive. The NGO CSW selects a Women of Distinction
and this year it was Ms. Sizani Ngubane from South Africa who has been working with a grass
roots organization on the empowerment of rural women. As shown below, Drs. Murthy, Beck,
Ogu and Ross were able to have dinner and hear the experiences of this remarkable woman.
MWIA’s parallel event took place at the Salvation Army Centre on Wednesday at 1230. It was
entitled Women Doctors Achieving Gender Equality/Empowerment in the Rural Setting. The
event was well received and the room was full to over-flowing.
The Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria also had a very successful parallel event earlier
that day. The MWAN contingent was led by its President, Dr. Joyce Barber, and its President-
elect, Dr. Minnie Oseji.
For many years, Dr. Gabrielle Casper, a Past President of MWIA, brings a contingent of medical
students from Notre Dame University in Sydney, Australia. This year she also brought the Dean
of her medical school, Professor Christine Bennett, who was the keynote speaker for our parallel
event. Prior to the MWIA event, MWIA had a luncheon event organized by Dr. Casper in order
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for us to meet the medical students and hear about their projects. Below is one of the many
excellent posters shown by the Australian medical students.
Many thanks also go to Dr. Gabrielle Casper for arranging the donation of an ultrasound machine
from the Rickards Foundation to Sierra Leone. Representatives of African Views and Sierra Leone
were at the lunch to receive the ultrasound machine. Wale Ajibade is seen here signing for the
machine.
107. NEWS FROM AROUND THE REGIONS
Australia
The Australian Federation of Medical Women sends news of a number of activities.
Congratulations to the new AFMW President, Associate Prof Deborah Colville who is also the
National Coordinator. Congratulations also to State presidents Dr Brenda Masters, ACT &
Region, Prof Gabrielle Casper, MWS NSW, and Dr Lydia Pitcher, QMWS. Dr. Marjorie Cross
has been awarded the OAM for her service to medicine, particularly her rural work. Many
Australians attended CSW- Natalie Yap, Sally Gordon, Jordan Cory, Sarah Lorger, Isabelle
Jones, Sarah Brazel and Lucy Splatt. Ms Lydia di Stefano and Dr Madalena Liu plan to attend
the World Health Assembly in May.
We are still updating AFMW website and states are moving to online membership
We will keep the issue of bullying and harassment of med students & Doctors In Training (DIT)
on our agenda AND specifically want to be able to support doctors to talk and then, if anything
we redirected folk to the MWIA website Specific progress in availability of breast feeding
facilities at our major hospitals remains under discussion and particular the availability of real
time childcare is our lead person there
VMWS in Wikipaedia page – awaiting online approval
Letter to local Member for Parliament regarding financial assistance for studying parents
Letter sent to Victorian universities with suggestions for providing practical support for students
who are parents and carers
AFMW is currently revising its logo
2018 AFMW meetings; 7 May, 30 July, 10/11 Nov
Meeting with Association Of Medical Women In India representative while she is in
AustraliaANZAC Commemoration World War One Service with the VMWS has been
completed. Now accepting donations towards a statue.
Brazil
On 29th November there was the release of the book “Bioethics and Violence against Women”
organized by Dr Nadir Prates at the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of São Paulo.
On 30th November there was the election assembly for the new executive 2018-2020 of ABMM
and ABMM-São Paulo Section followed by a nice cocktail reception and a lecture about wines.
On 2nd March Dr Nise Yamaguchi, director of ABMM and renowned oncologist received the
Prize of Woman Excellent” given by FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo).
On 9th March there was the commemoration for International Women’s Day at APM (Medical
Association of São Paulo) with tributes to four illustrious women, one being the first woman
president of the Brazilian Association of Pediatrics. On the same day the new executive of
ABMM and ABMM-São Paulo began their tenure. As previously mentioned in the December
Update, the new President of ABMM-SP is Prof Magda Carneiro Sampaio, Professor of
Pediatrics of São Paulo University Medical School.
ABMM-Parana State Section organized a Continuing Medical Education Course “Strength and
Perseverance of Women in Medicine.”
The first lecture of the year was on 22nd March: “Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics and
Gender Medicine.”
11The Gender Medicine Department of ABMM (Dr Marilene Melo, Anna Maria Martits, Elizabeth
Alexandre, Elisa Garcez and Francy Patricio) is continuing their work in introducing the concept
of gender medicine among the lay population, and on a project of law to introduce the study of
Gender Medicine in the curriculum of medical schools of the state of São Paulo. Dr Melo is
giving lectures to the lay population about the subject.
Canada
Dr. Vivien Brown, Chair of the HPV Prevention Week Committee writes:
Join us in fighting HPV – An invitation from the FMWC to fellow MWIA members
Canada is the first country in the world to have created a week dedicated to HPV Prevention and
Education. It was celebrated and promoted across our country form October 1-7, 2017. And now
we are gearing up and preparing for our 2018 week with our website, our hashtag for social
media, #HPVPW2018 and #CANADAvsHPV.
The goal of the week was to foster collaboration with government, with the public health
authority, with other interested organizations, with industry and with patient groups. To succeed
we all need to work together, educating the public, the patients, the parents and each other.
We, in Canada, invite you to use our information, take advantage of the work we have done thus
far, link to our website and start your country’s HPVPW 2018 week.
Maybe your hashtag will be #AUSTRALIAvsHPV or #NIGERIAvsHPV. Join us, work with us,
and let MWIA lead the way to the WHO so that we can truly eliminate HPV and the killer of
women, cervical cancer.
For more information, please visit our website https://fmwc.ca/hpv-prevention-week-2017/ or
email us at fmwcmain@fmwc.ca.
The Federation has developed a partnership with Canada’s Women Peace and Security Network
(https://wpsn-canada.org/). They recently attended the Vancouver Women’s Forum on Peace
and Security on the Korean Peninsula. https://www.womencrossdmz.org/vancouver/
12FMWC is planning the 2018 AGM in Toronto, September 21-23, where the theme is Women
Physicians: Making a World of Difference.
To assure a constant healthy growth, the FMWC is constantly evaluating and attending to its
members’ needs as well as working on strategies and new partnership that allow for the reach of
new potential members.
FMWC is gathering followers on our social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn;
and has launched of our blog, WoMED in 2018.
Georgia
Dr. Nino Zhvania writes about the activities of the Georgian Medical Women’s Association
during the first three months of 2018.
In Februrary, members of GMWA along with the doctors of Acad. G. Chapidze Emergency
Cardiology Center performed thehumanitarian action of performing medical examinations on
more than 200 women with heart problems.
Also in February, the President of GMWA Professor Nino Zhvania had presentations on three
different TV programs concerning heart problems in women.
In February GMWA organized the scientific practical conference in the Telavi -Kakheti Region
of Georgia. The conference program consisted of topics of interest to doctors.
In March GMWA organized a very interesting exhibition of doctors’ painters at the
National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. The Exhibition was well attended and there was
widespread TV coverage of the event.
India
The Association of Medical Women in India held its annual conference in Mumbai in December.
Both MWIA President, Bettina Pfleiderer and MWIA VP for North America were able to attend
and participate in the scientific sessions.
Dr. Karen Breeck of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada was able to connect with the
Mumbai Branch while in India and was welcomed warmly by members.
13Italy
In Italy, gender medicine has become law.
These are the salient points of the law: From paragraph 2 (Art.3):
a) prediction of an interdisciplinary approach between medical areas and the human
sciences that takes into account the differences deriving from gender
b) promotion and support of biomedical, pharmacological and psycho-social research
based on gender differences;
c) Teaching the gender medicine, guaranteeing adequate levels of training and updating
of medical and health personnel;
d) promotion and support of public information on health and disease management, with
a view to gender difference.
The AIDM has been involved with the Centre of Reference for Gender Medicine that will
help the government implement the new law. AIDM has been involved in gender
training activity around the country.
The Italian Medical Women Association (AIDM) has held numerous conferences all over the
country:
Brescia, March 17, 2018. Take care with words and actions. Sexually transmitted diseases
Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (ME), 17 March 2018. Should vaccinations be useful?
Salerno, 15 March 2018 - Gender violence. Recognition, interventions and exit routes.
Palma di Montechiaro (Agrigento), 10 March 2018.Cardiovascular diseases: actuality and future
perspectives.
Brindisi March 10, 2018. VIII Congress of Gender Medicine Emerging diseases in contemporary
society
Parma, 8 March 2018 The Medicine of Differences. IDENTITY and LANGUAGE
RAGUSA, 3 March 2018. PREGNANCY, A PATH TO SHARE.
TRIESTE - 17 February 2018 – Fusion between research and clinical practice
MATERA, 16-17 February 2018. New therapeutic routes in respect of individual and
environment: gender approach in chronic-degenerative diseases.
LAMEZIA TERME (CZ), 12 February 2018. World day of epilepsy.
CATANIA, 10 February 2018. NEGOTIATED CHILD.
PALMA DI MONTECHIARO (AG), 3 February 2018. The therapeutic strength of colours
14TREVISO, 3 February 2018. Vaccination: how to dissolve parents' doubts
TURIN, 29 January 2018. Gender Health and general practice physicians. A Survey among
general practitioners.
TREVISO, January 24, 2018. Violated women. Current interventions, strategies and resources.
ROME, 22 January 2018. Gender medicine and legal guidelines.
GIRIFALCO (CZ), 20 January 2018. Cardio-metabolic complications in pregnancy
COSENZA, 19 JANUARY 2018. Fibromyalgia: invisible disease
LECCE 13 January 2018. It is not always allergy.
MESSINA, 18 December 2017 – Related assistance infections: alarm resistance to antibiotics
BOLOGNA, 16 December 2017 - Nutrition path in the various phases of the woman's life
BELVEDERE M.MO (CS), 15 December 2017 – The women’s health from adolescence to
adulthood
Japan
The Japanese Medical Women’s Association will be holding its 63rd annual general meeting at
the Keio Plaza Hotel in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on May 19-20, 2018. There will be a
special lecture about supporting women doctors.
Korea
The Korean Medical Women’s Association (KMWA) had the privilege to serve the people in
Cambodia with heart warming community services as well as medical services including
portable Ultrasonography and mobile clinical lab from February 13 to 18 in the Prek Nuong,
Campot and Srung regions of Cambodia. This period includes the lunar New Year holiday when
members can free themselves from their own job. Fourteen KMWA members and 11 other
volunteers joined the team to serve about 1,000 villagers with around 2,800 different kinds of
services. This is the 4th time medical services have been provided by KMWA in the South East
Asian region, the first three being three visits to the Philippines.
KMWA will continue to serve people who are in need, domestic and international.
New Zealand
For some years there has been no official New Zealand Medical Women’s Association but Dr.
Denise Watt and Dr. Margaret Maxwell have maintained their contacts with worldwide
colleagues as individual members of MWIA. They have attended some of the International
Meetings.
Dr Denise Watt continues with her busy General Medical Practice in Milford, Auckland.
Dr Margaret Maxwell has retired from active Medical Practice but helps weekly at MEDICAL
AID ABROAD . Hospital pharmacies and local pharmacy shops send surplus medications to
M.A.A. Here drugs, medications, medical equipment are packaged according to the needs of
overseas countries e.g. Tonga, Papua New Guinea, China. These countries send lists of their
requirements and they are sent by sea when required .All of these medications must be “within
date” to be suitable to send overseas.
15Nigeria
Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi attended the CSW. She writes that she is working currently on conflict
affected girls and women and had to rush back to her assignment following CSW. She is pleased
to announce that the school girls abducted from the secondary school were returned safely
through negotiation with their captors and remains hopeful that the remaining girl in that group,
who refused to convert to Islam, will also be returned, along with countless girls still in captivity.
MWAN President, Joyce Barber and President-elect, Minnie Oseji led a large contingent of
Nigerian Medical Women to CSW and had a successful parallel event. They were able to attend
the North American Regional Meeting of MWIA in Philadelphia.
Thailand
The Thai Medical Women’s Association reports that with donations from philanthropists, they
are continuing their program that started in 2005 and have given scholarships to 12 new female
medical students from rural areas which added to the number of existing students studying at
present to 35 plus 23 already graduated. All by one of the graduates is serving the rural area.
Under TMWA’s supervision, 107 IlKyoung students from Dolvittaya School were educated
about healthy food to prevent the development of non-communicable diseases. The goal is to
prevent NCD in adulthood thus supporting the SDGs.
Collaborating with the Thai Heart Association, TMWA provided CPR training to 55 students
and teachers at Satree Booranavitya School.
In February, Trang Hospital in the southern province of Thailand saw TMWA sponsor special
seminars by the experts in three requested categories—anti-aging, how to overcome stress
related problems and legal advice about living wills. Once or twice a year, TMWA provides
specialist seminars on topics requested by rural hospitals.
On February 9th, 25 young female physicians were certified in the leadership course provided by
TMWA from philanthropist funds. This is the second graduating class in this program.
From March 13-16, TMWA had a booth at Challenging Hall Impact Thong Thani. The activities,
history and projects of the association including work with MWIA were highlighted. It was a
good opportunity to inform others about the upcoming CARC September 6-8, 2018 in Bangkok.
16United States
The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) supported the Afghanistan Girls
Robotics Team who last year made international news last year when their visas were denied,
then later granted. They have won awards at robotics competitions in the U.S. and Europe. The
team was hosted by Eliza Chin, MD and AMWA members in the San Francisco area. The local
event had 100 attendees with robotics teams and scouts where AMWA was featured as the host.
The AMWA 103rd Annual Meeting and MWIA North America Regional Congress “Women
Igniting Change” took place in Philadelphia PA, March 22-25, 2018. It was a successful and
well-attended meeting and had several sessions and workshops on current medical issues.
MWIA leaders, Dr. Bettina Pfleiderer, President, Dr Shelley Ross, Secretary General, Dr.
Clarissa Fabre, President-elect and NGO rep to WHO, Dr. Padmini Murthy, VP North America
and UN NGO rep to UN, participated in the meeting and spoke at various sessions. Dr Beverly
Johnson, President of FMWC, and Dr Vivien Brown, Past-President, participated and spoke at
the meeting.
AMWA is again partnering for the Sex and Gender Health Education Summit: April 8-10, 2018,
at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
17The Advocacy Committee has been very busy this year working to ensure that women’s health
services continue to be a covered entity. The committee encourages members to supports the
Women’s March Anniversary and many will be participating in their own cities.
The gala at the North American Regional Meeting of MWIA gave attendees a chance for a
viewing of AMWA’s film on American Women Physician in World War I.
8. REPORT FROM MWIA’S REPRESENTATIVES TO THE UN
Dr. Satty Gill Keswani and Dr. Padmini Murthy, USA
Dr. Padmini Murthy has been representing MWIA well at on the executive of the NGO CSW
Planning Committee, where she also chaired the Bazaar subcommittee for CSW62.
The UN NGO representatives Drs. Keswani and Murthy organized a parallel event on March
14th 2018 during the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The event was
titled “Women doctors Achieving Gender Equality/Empowerment in the Rural Setting.” The
event was co-sponsored by the American Medical Women’s Association and African Views. The
event was well attended by members of MWIA, AMWA, Medical Women’s Association of
Nigeria, Austrian Medical Women’s Association and other NGO colleagues. The speakers
included Dr Christine Bennett, Dean School of Medicine Sydney, University of Note Dame, Ms.
Denise Scotto Esq, Dr. Bettina Pfleiderer, President of MWIA, Dr Shelley Ross, Secretary
General of MWIA, Dr. Clarissa Fabre President-elect of MWIA and NGO rep to WHO, Dr.
Cissy Wu, VP Western Pacific MWIA, Dr. Gabrielle Casper Past President MWIA, Dr. Eleanor
Nwadinobi, PP Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Dr. Rosemary Ogu, PP
Young MWIA, Dr Eliza Chin, Executive Director AMWA. The panel was co moderated by Dr.
Padmini Murthy and Dr Shelley Ross. Dr Joyce Barber, President of MWAN also make remarks
from the floor. MWIA also co sponsored parallel events with African Views and the American
Bar Association during the CSW. Dr Murthy also presented on three panels during the CSW.
18MWIA was well represented by the members who were present at several high level panel
discussions, the NGO CSW consultation day and the reception and the opening ceremony of the
CSW.
Dr Gabrielle Casper on behalf of the DAK Foundation presented a portable ultrasound machine
to Sierra Leone which was received by Wale Ajibade on behalf of Sierra Leone. The Australian
medical students from School of Medicine Sydney, University of Note Dame presented their
global health projects during the CSW. The young doctors from Australian Federation
of Medical women spoke about their experience working on women’s health issues.
The students presented awards for outstanding support and mentorship to Drs. Pfleiderer, Ross,
Fabre, Murthy and Keswani during the CSW
9. REPORT FROM MWIA’S REPRESENTATIVE TO WHO
Dr. Clarissa Fabre, UK
I would like to begin by congratulating Dr Shelley Ross for producing the Collaboration Plan
between WHO and MWIA for the period 2018-2021. This involved a great deal of work, and
was approved by the WHO in January 2018. This Collaboration Plan is pivotal to the continuing
working relationship between MWIA and the WHO.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, in unveiling his 15-strong leadership team in October,
declared ‘The team represents 14 countries, including all WHO regions, and is more than 60%
women, reflecting my deep-held belief that we need top talent, gender equity and a
geographically diverse set of perspectives to fulfil our mission.’ This was the first time since the
establishment of WHO in 1948 that women outnumbered men in senior management positions.
This is laudable, but, as reported in the Lancet, some WHO staff expressed concern about lack of
transparency in the selection process (www.thelancet.com Vol 391 Jan 27, 2018).
I have spoken before about MWIA’s involvement in piloting the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist
(Dr Rosemary Ogu and her team in River State, Nigeria). The results of the Better Birth trial,
with outcome data from more than 157,000 deliveries in facilities in India, have recently been
published in the New England Journal of Medicine (N Eng J Med 377;24 Dec 14, 2017). The
authors evaluated whether introducing the WHO checklist of 28 essential birth practices,
together with staff coaching, would result in lower maternal and perinatal mortality. No
significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups. Dr Atul Gwandi
from the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the research, is not disheartened however.
The trial facilities were predominantly very basic health centres, not hospitals, the birth
attendants were often not skilled, the drugs necessary for treating post-partum haemorrhage and
pre-eclampsia were not available, and the hospitals where Caesarean sections could be done
were often many miles away along poor unmade roads. I believe that the Safe Childbirth
Checklist, along with regular staff training, manifestly remains best practice in difficult
circumstances, which MWIA should continue to promote (www.who.int/safechildbirthchecklist).
10. EUROPEAN WOMEN’S LOBBY
Dr. Edith Schratzberger Vecsei and Prof. Bettina Pfleiderer
The EWL produced a collage of photographs illustrating their work this past year: album of
photographs from our actions throughout 2017.
19We have continued to intensify the development and design of programme, advocacy and
campaigning work with and amongst members via for example developing a new dynamic
format for our General Assembly and the establishment of strategic working groups and task
forces related to EWL’s priority areas. We developed the use of the “Living Room” as a safe
online organizing space for EWL Members and work.
10. CIOMS
On 1st March, CIOMS announced its partnership agreement with the International Federation
of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). This agreement aims to support medical students
from IFMSA to undertake internships in the World Health Organization (WHO) in the area of
medicines (including vaccines) safety/ pharmacovigilance and medical research ethics. In short,
in collaboration with IFMSA, CIOMS will annually give one or two financial grants to support
medical student internships in WHO, Geneva. Geneva is an expensive place to stay and this
could help students, especially from resource- limited settings. For more information on how to
apply for this grant, please click here to visit CIOMS website.
In January 2018, the CIOMS Guide to Vaccine Safety Communication was published
providing an overview of strategic communication issues faced by medicines regulators, those
responsible for vaccination policies and programmes and other stakeholders when dealing with:
(1) the launch of newly-developed vaccines for the first time to market,
(2) the introduction of current or underutilized vaccines into new countries, regions, or
populations, and
(3) the handling of any new safety issue arising during the life-cycle of a vaccine.
Sourcing from existing guidance
12. yMWIA
Dr. Geneviève Koolhaas
President young MWIA, National Coordinator the Netherlands, Northern Europe
After some period of silence, we are pleased to bring an update to you. First of all, we would
like to share our regrets with you for being less active than promised.
After bringing my input and thoughts to President-elect Clarissa Fabre to construct a survey, I
must say thank you for responding! Especially Northern Europe and the Near East and Africa
East actively participated, and I am pleased to see that about 50% were aged between 25 and 40
which again inspired me. The top 3 most important issues are: violence against girls and women
(67%), leadership and mentoring (57%) and work-life balance (53%). As you have noticed, I
have been struggling with my own work-life balance. Being a resident in intensive care with the
ambition of being an anesthesiologist with pediatric interests, a new mom of a beautiful daughter,
wife of a great women and active member of different organizations like the MWIA, it has been
an interesting challenge to keep my head above water. As you might have read in a previous
update, this is my first time being president of an international board and NGO – a great learning
school on its own. And as a curious young doctor and enthusiastic colleague the upcoming
Centenary urges me to ask you for your input and help.
20As you know the MWIA was founded in New York in 1919. The very inspiring Centenary of the
UK Medical Women’s Federation in London last year gave a great overview of the history of
women doctors. The lack and denying of women the chance to chase their academic ambition
was worrying, especially because to some extent nothing has changed. The recent great movie
The Post, starring Meryl Streep, displayed the discrimination against a female leader in the early
1970’s. Dutch studies show that fewer than 10% of women doctors reach the top of the
academic ladder, and this is not exclusive for the healthcare system or for the Netherlands.
With the (y) MWIA we have a great opportunity to empower each other and fight for women’s
rights across the world. I would love to hear your stories and how the yMWIA can help you. As
you might have noticed, we are active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, so feel free to visit us
there! Recently MWIA launched a ‘violence against women module.’ 50% of the respondents
to the MWIA survey say ‘a good visible platform’ is key for the yMWIA. If you have any
suggestions to improve this, do not hesitate to contact us.
A great presentation at the Vienna conference in 2016 and following discussion taught us that
mentoring is beneficial for both the mentor and the mentee. The MWIA has great intellectual and
academic power, let’s exchange what we know to empower each other. And could you please
share any research/publications you’re working on? It would be great to share young academic
output at the Centennial July 25th-28th 2019. See you there?
13. CALENDAR OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS MWIA AND INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS – CONGRESSES AND MEETINGS
2018
1. April 8-11, 2018, Geneva, Switzerland
Conference on Person Centered Medicine organized by the International College of Person-
centered Medicine in collaboration with the World Medical Association, WHO, and other
major international medical and health institutions including MWIA
www.personcenteredmedicine.org/
2. April 25-26, 2018, Denver, Colorado, USA
Active Communications International (acius.net) hosts the 2nd Women’s Health Conference
Register at http://www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/womens-health-2/
For the discount use code WHC2YL or email/call Y Lee at ylee@acius.net /
414-221-1700 ext. 142
3. April 26-28, 2018, Riga, Latvia
209th World Medical Association Council Session
www.wma.net.
4. April 27-28, 2018, Palermo, Italy
Southern European Regional Meeting of MWIA
Vp_southerneurope@mwia.net
215. May 11, 2018, Cardiff, Wales
Spring Meeting of the Medical Women’s Federation of the UK
Park Plaza Hotel Cardiff, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff CF10 3AL
Women and Health: Aiming for the Wellbeing of Women Doctors and their Patients
www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk
6. May 19-20, 2018, Tokyo, Japan
Annual meeting of the Japanese Medical Women’s Association
Keio Plaza Hotel, Tokyo
Contact Dr. Yoshiko Maeda ymaeda65115@gmail.com
7. May 19-20, 2018, Geneva, Switzerland
World Health Professions Regulation Conference
Crown Plaza Hotel, Geneva
kuonicongress.eventsair.com
8. May 21-29, 2018, Geneva, Switzerland
World Health Assembly of WHO
www.who.int
9. September 6-8, 2018, Bangkok, Thailand
8th Central Asia Regional Meeting of MWIA
Theme is “Women’s wellbeing-a global perspective”
Montien Hotel, Bangkok
www.carc2018.com
www.tmwa.or.th
2018carc@gmail.com
10. September 21-23, 2018, Toronto, Canada
Annual general meeting and scientific session of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada
Women Physicians: Making a World of Difference
www.fmwc.ca
11. October 1-6, 2018, Geneva, Switzerland
Eighth Session of the conference of the parties to the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Rue de Varembe 17, 1211 Geneva
www.who.int/fctc
12. October 3-6, 2018, Reykjavik, Iceland
World Medical Association General Assembly
www.wma.net
13. October 17-21, 2018, Coex, Seoul, Korea
WONCA International Congress, Primary Care in the Future: Professional Excellence
22http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/Conferences/WONCAWorldconference2018.aspx
14. November 11-15, 2018, Nairobi, Kenya
Near East and Africa Regional Meeting of MWIA
Theme is Accelerating Women’s Health Agenda: Priorities and Opportunities through SDGs
www.mwia.net
15. December 5-6, 2018, New Delhi, India
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH)
2018 Partners’ Forum
Vigyan Bhavan Conference Centre
www.who.int/pmnch
2019
1. June 3-6, 2019, Vancouver, Canada
Women Deliver Conference
http://womendeliver.org/conference/2019-conference/
2. July 25-28, 2019, New York City, USA
Centennial Congress of the Medical Women’s International Association
www.amwa-doc.org/mwia100/
3. Autumn, 2019, Cruise still in the planning stage
Federation of Medical Women of Canada 95th anniversary meeting
14. NAMES IN THE NEWS
Dr. Michele Barry of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) received the
Elizabeth Blackwell Medal.
Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, honorary member of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada on
becoming a Member of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Marjorie Cross of the Australian Federation of Medical Women has been awarded the Medal
of the Order of Australia for her services to medicine, particularly in rural areas.
Dr. Ellen Einterz of AMWA received the Esther Pohl Lovejoy Award.
Dr. Wendy Klein of AMWA received the Lila Wallis Women’s Health Award.
Dr. Noni MacDonald, of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada was the recipient of the
2017 National Child Day Award.
Dr. Pauline Maki of AMWA received the Woman in Sciene Award.
23Dr. Mandakini Megh of the Association of Medical Women in India received the NA Pandit
and Shailaja Pandit Award for Women Empowerment for her work in the area of domestic
violence.
Dr. Padmini Murthy VP for North America was awarded the Homi Colabawalla Award by the
Association of Medical Women in India.
Ms. Sizani Ngubane from South Africa was the NGO CSW 2018 Woman of Distinction.
Dr. Bettina Pfleiderer President of MWIA received the Dr. Usha Saraiya President Oration
Award from the Association of Medical Women in India.
Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber a past president of AMWA received the Bertha van Hoosen
Award.
Dr. Shelley Ross Secretary General of MWIA was awarded Physician of the Year by her
hospital foundation.
The late Dr. Emily Stowe, the first Canadian woman to practice medicine in Canada, is being
inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London, Ontario on April 12,
2018.
13. OBITUARIES
Dame Beulah Bewley a Past President of the Medical Women’s Federation of the UK passed
away in March, 2018.
Dr. Marcella Sava Borgstrom of the Italian Medical Women’s Association and a Past Vice
President of MWIA for Southern Europe passed away in Naples in June, 2017.
Dr. Waltraud Diekhaus of the German Medical Women’s Association and immediate Past
Secretary General of MWIA, following a long battle with ovarian cancer, passed away
peacefully at home surrounded by her family in February, 2018.
Dr. Mavis Teasdale of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and a pioneer in Pediatric
Oncology passed away in Vancouver in March, 2018.
16. PUBLICATIONS
1. A guide to the SDGs can be found in the Women Thrive SDG5 Toolbox
Direct Link: https://womenthrive.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/01/womenthrive_yoursdg5toolbox.pdf
2. Amnesty International’s Human Rights Report can be found at:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2018-02/annualreport2017.pdf
243. World Economic Summit says Why 2018 Must Be the Year for Women to Thrive
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/the-time-has-come-for-women-to-thrive-heres-how
4. Why Daughters of older mothers are more likely to never have children
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/daughters-older-mother-more-likely-not-have-children-
research-mcgill-university-a8099831.html
II. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
1. World Health Organization (WHO)
a. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control held a webinar on the importance of the
International Labour Organization breaking ties with the tobacco industry.
b. WHO has recommended the use of Tranexamic acid (TXA) for the treatment of postpartum
hemorrhage. http://bit.ly/2iiV8Ft
c. AA-HA! Continues to build capacity around the Adolescence Agenda. Please see this link for
upcoming meetings and implementation in early adopter countries:
http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/news_events/news/adolescent-aa-ha-update/en/
2. United Nations
a. UNICEF is launching a new campaign to help save newborn lives: Every Child ALIVE.
World leaders are being called upon to give the most vulnerable children the care they need to
not just survive, but thrive.
The launch coincides with the release of our latest report, which outlines the issue of newborn
mortality and UNICEF's proposed solutions, including trained health workers, life-saving
medicine, functional health facilities and empowerment for women and girls.
b. March 1st marked the 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
3. CoNGO In response to the protracted migrant and refugee crisis that has affected primarily
Europe and the MENA region, a coalition of international organizations took the initiative to
adopt the 2017 Geneva Declaration entitled "Mobility and human solidarity, a challenge and an
opportunity for Europe and the MENA region" pledging for increased cooperation between
decision-makers to address the adverse impact of the crisis.
25The Geneva Declaration is the fruit of a panel debate entitled "Migration and human solidarity, a
challenge and an opportunity for Europe and the MENA region" that was organized on 14
December 2017 at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
4. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP is looking for volunteers to serve on its Expert
Committees. Their goal is to increase and diversify their volunteer base to ensure the continued
success in the new cycle with the identity, strength, quality, and purity of chemical and
biological medicines, excipients, and dietary supplements. If interested, please contact
uspvolunteers@usp.org.
5. Rescue.org has developed a toolkit to manage menstrual hygiene into humanitarian response.
Direct Link to Full 94-Page 2017 Publication:
https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/2113/themhminemergenciestoolkitfullguide.
pdf
6. The Ontario College of Family Physicians is drawing attention to the success of vaginal self
swabs in the detection of STIs. ocfp.on.ca/
7. #MeToo has spread into #TimesUp More than 300 women in Hollywood—executives, actors,
agents, writers, directors, and producers—announced the formation of Time’s Up, an effort to
counter systemic sexual harassment not just in the entertainment industry, but also in industries
across the country.
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
The next Update will be published in June, 2018, the seventh in the new triennium. Please send us
your reports, comments or any other interesting information by May 31, 2018, at the latest. We are
always interested to put your name and your accomplishments in the Update. We are pleased to
post the meeting information for your national association’s annual meeting.
26You can also read
